A ten-gigawatt capacity solar farm is planned to be built across the Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory occupying an area of about 15,000 hectares. A 3,800km cable will be put across the seafloor to export the power generated to Singapore. Due to its use of solar energy, the project has been named ‘Sun Cable’.
To provide an alternative to the export business of iron ore, coal, and gas, similar projects are already in the pipeline. As of now, Australia doesn’t export any of its renewable energy. One-fifth of Singapore’s power supply will be provided by the project by 2030. One of the major reasons behind the conceptualization of Sun Cable is the fact that high-voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables have already proven feasible in many countries. A few HVDC grid interconnectors are already running across the continent of Europe. The project is expected to cost around A$20 billion and will be completed in 2027. The “solar array” prefabrication technology of 5B, a Sydney based firm, which is in contract with Sun Cable will accelerate the building of the solar farm. The Sun Cable has been granted a “Major Project” status by the Northern Territory government which would further help in clearing potential investments and approval barriers to ease the project’s financial aspects.
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